Sunday, June 26, 2011

Nearly There!

Just about finished. After working down, yesterday met up with the earlier blogs that had been cleared and so virtually all have been now pruned with the exception of the most recent couple of months. Have checked for the Boil and Bake recipe for you Cheesepare, and see this is on the 16th May (last month) and though I tried clearing some of the earlier days of that month before I began today's blog, found still more has to be done. It takes me a good 12 hours to prune down just one month, so decided the rest of May will have to wait or it will be too late for me to write anything at all today. Hopefully, by tomorrow will have brought it back for you.

The main index (March 2009) was exceedingly difficult to prune. In the end had to delete cake, biscuits, and desserts, also soups, but did manage to bring back the beef, pork, chicken, lamb, fish. Also kept Preserves.
Many of these missing-index recipes still remain on the site, it just means they have to be searched for, or if you remember something you want and it's been deleted anyway, just let me know and I'll give the recipe again.

Did make a note that postings worth looking up are: Baking Bread (9th and 10th May '09); and a couple of good basic cake recipes (one for a tray-bake) that can be made into umpteen others, these on 4th Aug. '08, and 13th Nov. '07.
There is a useful posting about Slow Cookers (aka crock-pots) on 30th Nov. '09, and a Yogurt 'Masterclass' on 23rd June '09.
The recipe for my soft-scoop ice-cream is on 18th May '09.

If into making cakes and ice-cream, yogurt and bread, then worth keeping a note of these dates.

As nothing was again done yesterday apart from almost completing my 'post-pruning' (B had to get his own supper AGAIN - he could only seem to manage bacon sarnie!), and watering the plants in the greenhouse.
Have to say when stepping outdoors, could not believe how cold it was. No wonder all the bedding plants are refusing to flower, this time last year they were a mass of colour. It makes me wonder if things will improve or whether we will now be faced with an even colder winter.
With still more threats of the price of fuel continuing to rise, we really have to start thinking long and hard how to save enough money to pay to keep ourselves warm.

Don't worry too much about overspending your budget Aileen, as long as some of the foods you buy are for storage (larder and freezer), then sooner or later you will be using these, which should mean you then end up spending less.
Myself find working with a monthly budget works best - this way 'extra' can be spent when it's worth doing (on offers, bulk purchases etc) and other times live from what was bought previously. This is why I like to place an order monthly from Tesco, always keeping within my budget, but taking advantage of any foods that will increase my stores. Within a few months usually manage to go several weeks without having to buy any food at all other than replacing the 'fresh' (usually milk, eggs, salads). Hopefully past posts will show this works well.

As mentioned above Cheesepare, you should find the missing cake recipe returning to your screen any day now. Sorry for the delay. I'll get there eventually.
Will try to put up more photos. There was one of my soft-scoop ice-cream but it didn't do it justice. Next time I make some (which should be very soon as B deserves a treat after having to cater for himself this last week) will take a photo. If nothing else it will show how much can be made from so little.

Unfortunately Jane, my weight has still not gone below the stone marker. Due entirely to the fact that yesterday I ate 3 pkts of crisps that B brought for me (plus 2 Kit-Kats), and the salt has made me retain water that would normally have poured away. By next weekend should have turned the corner and be a few pounds more lighter.

It's not that I'm now on any type of diet Woozy, it's just that I'm eating a lot less, and probably because I seem to have lost my appetite. At one time could eat just one chocolate, then continue eating until the whole box was empty. Same with a packet of biscuits. Since I've had to cut out sugar, don't really get the chance to indulge, yet even though did have two Kit-Kats yesterday, there are still some left, also some crisps that - in the past - I would have eaten 'just because they were there'. Seems that at long last have got control of my appetite and manage to eat just enough at any one time. Not necessarily the right things if yesterday was anything to go by, but was to exhausted to even make myself an omelette.

Have been a bit annoyed with B as he knows I've hardly had anything to eat this last week (being stuck in front of the comp) yet when he comes in and says he'll make his own meal, he never asks if he could make me something as well. Yes, I could suggest he did, but me being me, would never do that. In the past when ever I've mentioned something like this (not necessarily to do with food) the reply has always been "well, why didn't you ask? My feeling (and sometimes say this) is "why should I HAVE to ask?". Suppose this is the difference between men and women. We see what is needed then set about doing it, they won't even bother to look in case it causes them more work. Next time I return to earth am thinking about being a man.

Not really much else to write about and it's not yet 8.00am. With Gill phoning at nine might as well finish now so am not having to wait to publish, and then have time to get on trying to put back the Boil and Bake recipe, so worth looking Cheesepare to see if it HAS returned.

Somehow all of June of 2009 seems to have disappeared completely, not sure why, but it was then that we were preparing to move, and also had some probs with the comp, so probably no reason to keep the postings. If I find some remain on the 'edit index' page (it now shows only what postings remain) should be able to put the ones I thought I kept, back onto this site.

Have tried to keep in all the hints and tips I felt worth giving, although some of these have probably been repeated. My main aim being to delete all the 'ramblings'. As you say Cheesepare, these did give a lot of insight into how we live today, and possibly could have been read with more interest in a hundred years from now. That's the problem with modern technology. Words can more easily and rapidly written down, but just as easily wiped out. The old fashioned way of writing down by hand is much the best way to keep a written record of our lives.
Suppose I could go back to my files and type it all out but really can't be bothered. Doubt my family would be interested in doing so. All I can say is that first-born has stored all computer contents on a special machine so that it can be transferred to another hard-drive if this breaks down. That's as near to keeping a record of what has been written as I am prepared to go.

So now another day begins. My aim this week is to start cooking again. Maybe even taking photos. Or today may just take a break and do as little as possible. Think I deserve it.
Hope you all have a good weekend. Join me tomorrow. See you then.